


Rescue

by Nareliel



Series: No Remedy [4]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angry Obi-Wan Kenobi, F/M, Obi-Wan & Satine Argue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-19 16:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22413775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nareliel/pseuds/Nareliel
Summary: With a wave of his hand, Obi-Wan reached out with the Force, closing the door and locking it before she reached the opening."I realize you care little for conflict, Duchess, but we will have this discussion nonetheless," he stated as calmly as he could.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze
Series: No Remedy [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613035
Comments: 2
Kudos: 90





	Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> **Word Challenge:** Rescue

Obi-Wan Kenobi watched the Umbaran Senator storm from the room and had to clamp down on his own anger. Was Satine _trying_ to get herself attacked? She had been on Coruscant only a week and this was not the first altercation he had found himself defusing. It was time they discussed this, though he knew it wouldn't be pleasant. Obi-Wan turned toward the woman in question who stood glaring at the open door with her arms crossed.

"More and more I find myself coming to your rescue." The statement dripped with sarcasm, causing Satine to straighten into a more formal pose.

"Then let me relieve you of the burden, _General_ ," she hissed the word as though it were a curse as she marched past him. "I did not seek the Jedi Council in this matter and your services are not required." She stalked toward the exit, dismissively dropping the matter, but Obi-Wan was tired of this dance and already provoked in a way that only the Duchess of Mandalore could seem to accomplish. With a wave of his hand, he reached out with the Force, closing the door and locking it before she reached the opening.

"I realize you care little for conflict, Duchess, but we will have this discussion nonetheless," he stated as calmly as he could, given she'd pushed him to the point of blocking her retreat.

Satine stood rigidly staring at the door. Then, with fists balled at her sides, she turned toward him. "How. Dare. You." She punctuated each word by taking a step toward him. "You will open that door and release me from this room!" Kenobi crossed his arms as he watched her.

"I will do no such thing," he replied. This only served to anger her more.

"You _will_ do as I say," she ordered in a tone she would use with an insubordinate member of her court. He infuriated her more by simply stroking his beard.

"Surely you realize you must be a Jedi for that trick to actually work, my dear." If not for his own vexation, Obi-Wan would have been amused by the sound of Satine's shoe indignantly stamping down onto the floor. He watched her take a deep breath and then slowly release it, attempting to calm herself.

"Fine, Master Jedi." She barely managed to sound civil. "What matter plagues you so that you would resort to holding me hostage?"

Obi-Wan felt what calm he had slipping away. "Holding you hostage...Satine! I may be acquainted with Hondo Ohnaka, but I am no Weequay pirate. And, I assure you, Duchess, you would not wish me to be." He motioned toward the door as he continued, "But, if these are the measures to which I must resort to secure a moment of your time, so be it."

Her chin lifted haughtily as she demanded, "What do you want, Obi-Wan?" He took a breath, attempting to release his anger to the Force. But, as always, he found it a difficult task in her presence.

"What do you want, Duchess?" He answered her question with one of his own. "Since your arrival on Coruscant you've engaged in several verbal altercations with those whose morals are questionable at best. One could almost think you are trying to provoke an attack."

She gave an indignant snort at that and Obi-Wan found it somewhat annoying that she could manage to sound more arrogant than unladylike. "They wouldn't dare."

"Publicly? No," he conceded. "But men like Mee Deechi have those they respect followed in hopes of uncovering a scandal. Those he does not respect more often than not meet with a violent end."

"You cannot prove that, or he would not serve in the Senate," she countered.

"You are right, but that doesn't mean I wish you to become one of his statistics," Obi-Wan stated. "Deechi may respect moderates such as Organa and Farr, but he holds no regard for pacifists."

"You worry too much," she dismissed his argument with a wave of her hand. "I know what I am doing."

"With all due respect, Duchess," he replied as tactfully as he could, "you haven't a clue." Her gaze narrowed, and Obi-Wan went on to explain. "I may not be a politician, but I've spent far more time than I would like to among those here on Coruscant. You are foolheartedly charging into skirmishes and preparing to wage a war on political terrain you are woefully unprepared to traverse."

"Of course!" Her hands flew out in exasperation. "Leave it to a soldier to view everything as a battle to be won!"

"You know very well the political arena is just as bloody a battlefield as any I have crossed!"

"Perhaps you have crossed too many and no longer see controversy and debate for what they are, a means of open dialogue between opposing views." She had moved forward and now stood close enough he could reach out and touch her if he dared. Given her obstinant stance and his own inability to tap into the peacefulness of the Force, Obi-Wan didn't dare move.

"Open dialogue? Such as the direct manner in which you've addressed my initial query?" He couldn't help but challenge her. "You've yet to give me a straight answer, Duchess, retreating behind rhetoric instead of facing me with the truth." Then, before he even realized what he was saying, "I've had longer clashes with Grevious before the illustrious general sought to flee."

The moment the words left his mouth, Obi-Wan was so taken aback by his own callousness that he didn't even register Satine's infuriated gasp until the few milliseconds before her raised palm connected with his cheek. Even then, given his reflexes in the Force, he could have dodged, but he let her strike anyway, knowing full well he deserved it. This was the danger of attachment. Only in the presence of Satine Kryze could he so easily lose control of his senses and speak words in anger. Words he did not particularly mean. No one, not even Anakin, had ever managed to rile his temper so. And now, because of his carelessness, he had hurt her.

"You would call me a coward?" Her voice shook with outrage. "You, who denies his feelings yet so clearly has them!" He started to speak, but Satine didn't give him the chance. "If you must know, General Kenobi, my strategy is to bait those whose loyalties are in question so that Senator Amidala might move behind the scenes to actually set effective policy in motion." Now her tone was cold, as though she delivered a report to the council. "As a pacifist, my views are already a point of contention with most senators. Therefore, if those who wish no end to this war are preoccupied with uncovering _my_ motives, they will be blind to Padmé's efforts in ending this conflict. Does that meet with your approval, Master Jedi?"

"Satine…" he endeavored to apologize, but she would have none of it. Back rigid, she turned to once more march toward the door, no doubt planning to attempt overriding the lock. He could not in good conscience leave things as they were. And, so, he followed, catching her by the arm and turning her back to face him. He had surprised her, for she did not have time to school her features and hide the hurt he had caused. It struck him as physically as a kick to the gut, and all he could do was gently whisper, "Satine." She gave a soft noise caught somewhere between a whimper and a cry before launching herself into his arms and Obi-Wan readily folded her into his embrace. He momentarily wondered if the Force was playing some elaborate trick on him because, in that moment, he felt more attune to its peaceful calm than he had since first wading into this conversation. They stood that way in silence for one heartbeat, then two, before he lowered his chin to brush against her temple and murmured, "Forgive me." Her only response was to press in closer and he ventured, "Cowardice has never been one of your attributes. You are the bravest woman I know. To resolutely hold to your beliefs in a time when they are so unpopular…. It takes a courage I wish I possessed."

She pulled back at that, not enough to leave his arms but an adequate distance that allowed her to search his face. "You possess far more fortitude than you give yourself credit for, Ben." _Ben_. Now that was a name he had not heard in a long time. Even recently, in their calmer encounters, she had opted to call him Obi instead of the name she had dubbed him with so many years ago. It conjured memories of their youth and longings he thought long suppressed. Oblivious to his thoughts, she continued, "In my anger, I dismissed your determination to abstain from affection." Her palm raised to gently stroke the cheek she had earlier struck. "But we both know how hard a sacrifice it truly is to remain resolute in the convictions of your order."

If she only knew how badly he wished to cast aside those convictions and claim her lips right then. But, to do so would not only be wrong but cruel. It would open a path before them that neither could travel. Gazing into her eyes, Obi-Wan settled instead for cupping the back of her raised hand and guiding it down to his mouth. He pressed a tender kiss to her palm and desperately wished he could give her more. Satine graced him with a gentle smile that whispered her understanding more clearly than any words that could have been spoken.

And then there was a beeping at the door that broke the spell. The corners of his mouth turned up in what could barely be described as a grin. His voice soft, he said, "It would seem duty calls, Duchess."

Her tone just as tender, she commented, "Indeed, Master Jedi."

Reluctantly, he loosened his hold as she slipped from his arms. It took but a moment for her shoulders to straighten into the regal pose she so often held as the Duchess of Mandalore, and Obi-Wan felt himself drawing upon the Force to affect the usual calm expected of him as a Jedi Knight. Together they turned toward the door, her hands clasped before her and his coming to rest behind his back after he had reached out to deactivate the lock. The door slid open and they walked forward, once more every bit the Republican General and Neutralist Duchess the galaxy knew them to be, as they moved toward whoever awaited them outside the chamber.


End file.
